The European Union confirmed Monday it is taking legal action against AstraZeneca over shortfalls within the deliveries of its coronavirus vaccine.

“Our precedence is to guarantee Covid-19 vaccine deliveries happen to defend the well being of European Union,” the EU’s commissioner for well being, Stella Kyriakides, stated Monday through Twitter.

“This is why the European Commission has determined collectively with all Member States to carry legal proceedings against AstraZeneca.”

“Every vaccine dose counts. Every vaccine dose saves lives,” she added.

The EU and the pharmaceutical big have been at odds several times this yr. The Anglo-Swedish drug firm stated it couldn’t ship as many vaccines because the bloc was relying on, each through the first and second quarters. This has delayed the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines throughout the 27 EU nations.

In March, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had expressed disappointment with the corporate, saying that “AstraZeneca has sadly under-produced and under-delivered. And this painfully, after all, diminished the pace of the vaccination marketing campaign.”

At the time, von der Leyen stated the bloc was anticipating 70 million doses from the corporate within the second quarter, down from 180 million initially anticipated. The bloc was additionally anticipating 120 million doses within the first three months of the yr, however obtained solely about 30 million.

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot had instructed EU lawmakers in February that low yields at EU manufacturing crops have been inflicting the delays.

A spokesperson for the pharmaceutical agency instructed CNBC final week that it has common discussions on provide with the fee and member states.